Flight 93 (2006)

I watched this on 'More4' on Friday 2009-09-04, thinking that it was the work of Paul Greengrass, the genius behind 'Bloody Sunday'. One hundred and ten tedious minutes later, I thought 'he's lost it'. I didn't realise that I was confusing 'Flight 93' with 'United 93' which I've just finished watching on 'ITV1' on Sunday 2009-09-06.(Why did I include a spoiler alert? Well, I am assuming that in a few years' time, there will be visitors to this site who will not have heard about what happened in the USA on 2001-09-11 or, at the very least, will not remember what was special about United Airlines flight 93. For those future generations wanting an idea about what happened that day, stay away from this patronising slush.) A hijacked airliner in itself makes for an interesting story, but the makers of this tat appear to have assumed that everyone watching was fully aware of the context and the ultimately fatal crashes of this plane and three others. Instead, it chose to focus on several conversations between the passengers in the air and their beautiful wives and parents at home in their beautiful houses. For an hour and a half, sweet syrupy goo oozed from the screen. 'Look!' say the film-makers, 'these nasty men killed beautiful loving American people.' What idiot script-writer feels the need to point out that most people are nice, and have others around them whom they love and who love them back? This insults the viewer, and what's worse, insults the memory of real people who died in that crash.

Firstly I really enjoyed the beginning of this film. I thought the tension of boarding the flight was built up really realistically. Maybe someone can clarify this, but I thought maybe all the phone calls were actually the real conversations that the families had on 9/11. I do remember the line 'you do believe me don't you?' on the loose change documentary. I thought there were bits of bad acting, very bad music at the end (reminded me of 'Titanic') and it was too soppy for my liking. I do however think that when you know you're going to die, you are liable to become over sentimental or say things you would normally not. Someone mentioned that they didn't like the one-dimensional portrayal of the hijackers, but to be honest I don't think the terrorists would have shown much of themselves whilst on the plane. They were to carry out a job involving killing themselves and many others, letting themselves be seen for who they are would be a weakness that could have ruined their mission. Wasn't a bad Movie, but I wouldn't watch it again or recommend it to my friends.

This is about as good as a TV movie could be on the subject. The acting, in general, is pretty good with only a few exceptions and the film plods along on an even keel.One thing that did shock me (and lets face it, there can't be spoilers because we 'know' what happened) is the ending. When the FBI agents say they can't find the plane and that there isn't enough wreckage. In a mainstream TV broadcast, that totally blew me away. What are the makers suggesting. That Flight 93 didn't crash? That it was blown out of the sky? Compared to the rest of the movie, this was a startling statement.My only problem with this and United 93 is that we don't really fully understand what happened, let alone what happened on board. It's all a fantasy. A hero myth to help us heal our memories of September 11th 2001.Perhaps its time somebody had the opportunity to put forward an alternative view. Based more on what we DO know.Flight 93 isn't that film. But it's strong for a TV movie and should be rewarded by a viewing for that.

i rented flight 93 without knowing it is a (tv) film, i was thinking it is actually 'united 93' i am about to watch, the very promising and talked about film that earned a spot on IMDb's top 250 list.i got home and put the DVD on play and what i saw was a very touching and realistic films that tells us a little about the flight passengers and how they dealt with the situation,we see them having the last conversations with their relatives and also the relatives reaction to what happens and the tension they go through all this time when the only thing they can do is hope.for me it was very moving! the first time i found out there are two different films about United 93 and i watched the one that is less good is when entering this site, i was surprised cause i really felt 'Flight 93' was very good.i didn't watch 'United 93' yet but I'm intending to soon.it is understandable that most people wont like to watch two movies that talk about the exact same thing, no matter what that thing is and for this i feel bad for 'Flight 93' because there was a great effort making it, an effort that is worth remarking.